Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi, a nuclear physicist and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, has been appointed as a fellow at the Royal Society in the UK.
Johannesburg, South Africa (11 May 2022) – Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi has been honoured at the highest academic level by the Royal Society UK, becoming a fellow at the society. He joins the ranks of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Dorothy Hodgkin and Stephen Hawking.
Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi is a nuclear physicist; he obtained his PhD from Wits in 1998 in nuclear physics under the supervision of the late Professor J Sellschop. He was instrumental in establishing South Africa’s first experimental high-energy physics research group in 1999 at the University of Cape Town.
Today, he is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, appointed so in January 2021. Before his appointment, he served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies, during which time Wits’ research outputs doubled.
Yesterday, the 10th of May 2022, it was announced that Professor Vilakazi was appointed as a fellow at the Royal Society (UK) one of the world’s most prestigious scientific academies. He is one of several South Africans to have now earned this honour. He joins the likes of Robert Broom, Phillip Vallentine Tobias, Basil Schonland, Frank Nabarro, and Nobel-Prize winner Aaron Klug, all of whom are also Wits alumni.
“It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society,” – Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society
“Through their careers so far, these researchers have helped further our understanding of human disease, biodiversity loss and the origins of the universe. I am also pleased to see so many new Fellows working in areas likely to have a transformative impact on our society over this century, from new materials and energy technologies to synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. I look forward to seeing what great things they will achieve in the years ahead.”
Professor Vilakazi says he feels honoured to be welcomed into the academic society and credits it as a recognition for the high calibre of science and scientist living and working in Africa.
“I am honoured to be welcomed as a Fellow of the Royal Society,”
“This is not just an honour for me, but also for Wits University, and all those who supported me. South Africa is home to a host of incredibly talented scientists, who punch above their weight in the global knowledge arena. Whilst this Fellowship acknowledges some of my achievements, more importantly, it recognises the high calibre of science and scientists based in Africa.” – Professor Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi
The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Fellows and Foreign Members are elected for life through a peer-review process based on excellence in science.
There are approximately 1 700 Fellows and Foreign Members, including around 85 Nobel Laureates. Each year up to 52 Fellows and up to 10 Foreign Members are elected from a group of about 800 candidates who are proposed by the existing Fellowship.
Not only does Professor Vilakazi fly the South African flag high, but he also does his university proud and inspires South African scientists to dream big!
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